Puff: The might of microdosing

Welcome to Puff, our new cannabis column, covering news, culture, product reviews, and broader issues important to the cannabis community. Puff is also a monthly queer cannabis appreciation night — happening November 2! — for the community, sponsored by 48 Hills (all are welcome!).

PUFF When it comes to cannabis edibles there is always the fear that you will eat too much, turn into a stoned zombie and make a fool of yourself. You hear the urban myths about how someone was at a party, didn’t know about the pot brownies, ate too many and had to spend the rest of the night in a dark room sitting in a corner with an ignored glass of water.

I recently had the opportunity to sample a lot of edibles from the incredible world of pot, and I found a key… microdosing.

Microdosing allows you to take as little as 1mg of marijuana at a time until you get the high that makes you comfortable in the situation you are in. At first, being a big stoner, I thought microdosing was for wimps. I’m a bong guy, and I am not afraid of any weed. Bring it on!

At a party, someone gave me a Kushy Punch gummy. It didn’t taste too good to me, but it sure blended well with my high. Then I tried a Breez 20mg mint. That got me way stoned. I was impressed. How about a 50mg lip balm? Sure! Next up, Wunder Fruit’s sativa oral spray at 2mg a squirt. At the Alison Moyet concert that week, I squirted about 10 sprays of it down my throat as the lights went down instead of lighting up my usual joint. Two songs in and the binaca-like spray kicked in, and I had a great high that lasted through the concert along with minty fresh breath.

So now if I feel like just taking the edge off I can take a 5mg mint. I can still function and get my work done. On my way to go out on the town? How about a 20mg gummy. Going to the movie? Take a gummy half an hour before and then a mint when you sit down. If I decide to stay in, watch movies and vegetate, I can take a portion of that 150mg cookie by Kurova and float away. I can create any high I want to suit the situation I am in.

Just remember a standard dose for a beginner is 5mg depending on how much cannabis you usually imbibe. I started at 5mg and quickly moved to 20mg. Of course, as you continue to use the products, you can increase the dosage. Also, to avoid getting paranoid, make sure some CBD (Cannabidiol) is present in the ingredients because that is the part of marijuana that helps to keep that at bay. THC makes you high, CBD helps with paranoia and pain among many things.

Also know that some edibles are unpredictable and will play along with what else you have eaten, where you are at, what you have drunk, and your mood. You can take the same amount in two different situations and feel somewhat sober once — and completely messed up the next. This doesn’t happen as much with the microdose products because they are usually just marijuana, sugar, gelatin or somesuch. They don’t get stuck in your digestive system, and hit you quicker and more dependably.

Nowadays, you can hear rattle of the mints in my pocket over the usual clack of the pipe. Careful if you kiss me because my lips just make you high. I am the modern stoner… the microdoser.

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Dan Karkoska is an independent producer, promoter, film critic, and DJ on the San Francisco scene. He also works with Maria Konner at Under the Golden Gate and is currently producing and hosting PUFF, the first queer marijuana rock-and-roll drag party every first Thursday at The Stud. He is a big stoner.
Photo by Sari Staver.